Question on the toss...

[gzhpcu]

I have a Vic Braden book "Tennis 2000", where he says that for a fast first serve you need to toss the ball 4-5 feet into the court. I see lots of pros who don't. Is this just valid for club players?

[lobndropshot]

I think it has less to do with the serve and more to do with getting to the net quickly.

[bottle]

Sounds like a great idea if one is twanging one's archer's bow and somersaulting over (and therefore is willing to move one's head).

Seems like there is an opportunity for two kinds of body rotation on any serve, to be used together or separately-- separately for a second serve especially if one is a rotorded server or is determined like Dennis Ralston to keep his head still (a perfect hub).

[johnyandell]

Terrible idea! This is 2015! Only a tiny handful of players ever made that work and it puts a premium on a live arm with very little knee bend or body. Very difficult also to time.

[gzhpcu]

Terrible idea! This is 2015! Only a tiny handful of players ever made that work and it puts a premium on a live arm with very little knee bend or body. Very difficult also to time.

There is an iPhone app with Vic Braden (rest in peace) tips. To serve fast, he says:

The bigger issue is that your upper arm (the link from the shoulder to the elbow) needs to be moving 180 degrees forwards before impacting the ball. That means you will have to toss the ball much further out in front to achieve that goal. The hardest hitter in pro tennis strike the ball four to five feet in front of the baseline. That means they will be pulled into the court when striking the ball.

He was probably thinking about Roscoe Tanner, whose serve he seems to have chosen as the model of the perfect serve, since he also advocated the minimal toss...

[stotty]

If a six foot tall player hits the ball from a toss 5 foot in front of him, how tall would the player be at point of impact? I'm guessing he's tiny? Can anyone work that out?

[GeoffWilliams]

Only sampras made contact 3-4' in front of him, but he was not a normal human being!

[lobndropshot]

Are we talking about inside the baseline?

[gzhpcu]

Yes

[gzhpcu]

Look at Gustavo Kuerten playing serve and volley...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCiIqOf06dg

[tennis_chiro]

Look at Gustavo Kuerten playing serve and volley...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCiIqOf06dg

What a great pick, Phil. Guga lands with his left foot a good 2 1/2 feet into the court and the contact point might actually be 5 feet in front of the baseline. Such a shame that his career was cut short by his problems with his hip.

And what a great service motion. Very much in the Krajicek mold that I along with KLACR and Stotty really love. Beautiful.

don

[klacr]

What a great pick, Phil. Guga lands with his left foot a good 2 1/2 feet into the court and the contact point might actually be 5 feet in front of the baseline. Such a shame that his career was cut short by his problems with his hip.

And what a great service motion. Very much in the Krajicek mold that I along with KLACR and Stotty really love. Beautiful.

don

I second tennis_chiro's opinions.
Great video of Guga serving in doubles during a Davis Cup match. Kuerten one of the most beloved champions in our sport. A great player and a greater humanitarian. Not a bad word can be heard spoken about him in the tennis world.

And yeah, let's not get me started on the Krajicek service motion . Eternity still would not allow me enough time to wax poetic on that motion.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[hockeyscout]

Only sampras made contact 3-4' in front of him, but he was not a normal human being!

An excellent point.

[tennis_chiro]

Guga against Federer, Hamburg quarters, 2002

I was glancing back at this thread because I love the video of Guga's serve and I clicked on this video of his match with Fed in Hamburg quarters in 2002.

It's amazing how much more they worked their way up to the net. Guga was not far from the height of his three Roland Garos victories and Federer was still a year away from his first major victory at Wimbledon, but it's definitely a great matchup. Pity the quality of the video isn't a little better.

Still - worth a look.

don

[don_budge]

Worth a look...

I was glancing back at this thread because I love the video of Guga's serve and I clicked on this video of his match with Fed in Hamburg quarters in 2002.

It's amazing how much more they worked their way up to the net. Guga was not far from the height of his three Roland Garos victories and Federer was still a year away from his first major victory at Wimbledon, but it's definitely a great matchup. Pity the quality of the video isn't a little better.

Still - worth a look.

don

It's worth a look…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDNDZ0Gsq3M